Reply #15: I think it can be considered orchestrated.

[sofa king]

First of all, there is no doubt that Kim Jong Il did this because of a carefully orchestrated campaign of isolation, non-negotiation and insult on the part of the Bush Administration against North Korea. He wouldn't have the bomb had the Bush Administration not pursued that policy in the first place, and he wouldn't have the oppotunity to test such a weapon with impunity without US distractions elsewhere around the world.

Second, the test could be a warning in response to US mobilization. For example, if the readers at DU know that a huge chunk of the US Navy deployed nine days ago, that goofy Godzilla fan knows it, too. That could be an excellent reason to perform the test now--to forestall a potential surprise American attack. Notice that it doesn't matter whether or not the US actually plans to do such a thing, it only matters whether the nutjob in charge thinks it might be possible.

Third, it remains to be seen where the Navy is going (my guess: Khuzestan), but it wouldn't surprise anyone here if the Bush Administration is trying to start another war somewhere in order to swing the midterm elections. If Iran and North Korea really are playing in the same sandbox together, then NK's test might properly be viewed as part of the soon-to-be Iranian crisis, which is being carefully nurtured by the United States.

Fourth, who wouldn't wish to see your enemy governed by criminally corrupt vultures more interested in stealing their own citizens' wealth than fighting you? Would keeping that status quo be worth testing a nuke that you probably need to test anyway, at a time which helps your incompetent enemy retain power, the enemy who so graciously gave you the time and opportunity to develop your bomb in the first place?

Consider the one question Chester Nimitz asked when he was informed that the U.S. had a chance to assassinate Admiral Yammamoto Isoroku in 1943: "If we get him, can they replace him with someone better?" In that case, the answer was "no." The enemies of the United States have the opposite problem. Right now, practically any of our 300 million citizens would be a better President than George W. Bush. Therefore the enemies of this nation have a great interest in keeping the Bush Administration in power and capable of continuing its sterling job of fucking everything up.